Every year, in December, just before Christmas, respiratory infections increase in Spain. The cold temperatures, together with greater social interaction that has been common since the Puente de la Constitución, give wings to the viruses that circulate in Spain. They are especially the flu and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), although Covid-19 has also gained strength in recent weeks.
In consultations at health centers, this rebound is already being experienced, which this year, experts point out, is somewhat higher than in other years. “For about 10 or 12 days now, all respiratory infections in Primary Care have skyrocketed,” confirms Leovigildo Ginel, a family doctor and expert in infectious diseases at the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (Semergen). «In the last two weeks we have seen how all respiratory infections have increased greatly. There is always a rebound in the month of December, but this year the truth is that there has been more,” he says.
The official data, explains this family doctor, may not yet reflect reality, as they are lagging behind. But in the latest statistics of the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (Sivira), published weekly by the Carlos III Health Institute, this increase is already observed.
In week number 50, which runs from December 11 to 17, the global rate of acute respiratory infection in Primary Care had an incidence of 793.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with an increase compared to previous weeks, according to the cited report.
Incidence rates of acute respiratory infections
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*Data reported in previous weeks is updated each week, so this value may vary depending on the week of reporting.
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*Flu rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly flu positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Estimated rate of COVID-19
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*COVID-19 rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly SARS-CoV-2 positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Estimated RSV infection rate
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*RSV infection rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly flu positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Fuente
Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA)
ABC
Incidence rates of acute respiratory infections
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*Data reported in previous weeks is updated each week, so this value may vary depending on the week of reporting.
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*Flu rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly flu positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Estimated rate of COVID-19
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*COVID-19 rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly SARS-CoV-2 positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Estimated RSV infection rate
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
Cases per 100,000 inhabitants
*RSV infection rate in Primary Care: weighted weekly HAI rate x weekly flu positivity. The reported data is updated every week.
Fuente
Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA)
ABC
The same data confirms an increase in the positivity rate for Covid-19 and especially for flu, which goes from 13% to 20% in just one week. That of VRS, on the other hand, remained stable. The incidence of flu in Primary Care, the report continues, increases and is manifested in all age groups. The hospitalization rate also increases slightly, especially in those over 80 years of age. The coronavirus is also on the rise among patients who go to health centers, although in this case the highest rates occur in children under 1 year of age. Hospitalization, for its part, also predominates in those over 80 years of age. Regarding the respiratory syncytial virus, an increase in the infection rate is also observed, although with stabilization in children under 5 years of age.
“Right now the data we have from both Primary Care and hospital admissions tells us that there is a significant level of circulation of respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2 and also influenza, which is also resulting in more hospitalizations,” says Ángela Domínguez, coordinator of the vaccination working group of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE). This doctor highlights the return of the flu – after a few years in which Covid-19 accounted for most of the infections – also with a certain advance compared to other seasons. «We have had some totally atypical years in which SARS-CoV-2 was mainly circulating, but then there was circulation of the flu again. And normally it also arrived a little later, but this year it was earlier. In fact, in September and October there were already,” explains Domínguez.
If the circulation of viruses continues to increase, experts agree, Christmas could be complicated, since the vaccination coverage figures do not suggest that the incidence of viruses will decrease. The Ministry of Health has recently made public the data of people who have been vaccinated with doses adapted to the new variants of Covid-19. Until last December, only 60% of people over 80 years of age had received the injection, when in the worst years of the pandemic this percentage reached almost 100%. But it must be taken into account that the situation is not the same.
“They don’t think they are vulnerable”
The figure is even lower in patients between 70 and 79 years old (47.26%) and in those between 60 and 69, since only 27.7% of Spaniards who are in this age group have been vaccinated. “The population aged 60 to 69 clearly does not see itself as a vulnerable population and that is being noticed,” laments Jaime Pérez, president of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology (AEV). At the beginning of the season, the scientific society launched a campaign to encourage the population to get immunized.
Flu coverage, this expert confirms, is somewhat above Covid coverage. “In many communities we observe that flu coverage increases by 12% or 13% compared to Covid,” but they are still, in his opinion, not enough. There is a statistic that highlights this, the ‘gripometer’ promoted by Sanofi, which measures the vaccination of Spanish society against the flu each year.
«There is still time to get vaccinated»
According to the latest data it manages, until mid-December only 60.5% of those over 65 years of age had been immunized, representing a reduction of 3% compared to the previous season. Pérez warns that this percentage may have increased slightly in recent weeks. «In general, the autonomous communities are going below although it is true that we can still improve. Until the end of December there is time to get vaccinated against the flu », he encourages. Ginel, for his part, believes that the increase in virus circulation observed this year compared to previous years may be a consequence, among other things, of these immunization figures.
The Independent Trade Union Center and Civil Servants (CSIF) also recently warned about what is already being seen in Primary Care consultations. “Respiratory diseases, the incidence of Covid and the flu associated with this time of year are straining Primary Care, both consultations and continued care points, and are also beginning to saturate hospital emergencies throughout Spain due to lack of personnel,” they denounced.
2023-12-27 05:05:12
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